The Next Challenge: High School
by blahh4
Summary: The D-tent boys are out of CGL and live in Houston. They're about to face their next big challenge: High School. They face the difficulties of high school; girlfriends, sex, pregnancies, and deaths. Bumped up to R Ch 8 and on. -Completed-
1. First Day of School

Me: HI EVERYONE! I'm bored so I thought I'd make this story cause it sounded cool to me DON'T SUE ME IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT!  
  
Zero: Yes please sue her  
  
Magnet: ZERO YOU TALKED!  
  
Zero: O_O  
  
Squid: Whatever  
  
Me: ....Ok!  
  
Title: The Next Challenge: High School  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Genre: Drama/Romance  
  
Summary: The D-tent boys are out of CGL and live in Houston. Their about to face their next big challenge: High School. They'll go through heart break, break-ups, graduation, loss, gain, and more R&R  
  
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Chapter 1: First Day of School  
  
"Hello Houston! And what a beautiful day we have ahead of us! Temperature in the ninety's and not a cloud in the sight!"  
  
"Oh, shut up you damn alarm," Squid mumbled, unplugging his alarm clock, which went from reading 6:30 to blank. Today was the first day of school, and the first time Squid had to wake up early in three months.  
  
"ALAN!" A female voice called.  
  
Squid remained silent, trying to get back to sleep.  
  
"Alan, you gotta wake up," His aunt Amy walked into the room, carrying some clean clothes for him. "It's the first day of school!"  
  
"No..." Squid groaned, pulling the blankets over his head.  
  
"Yes..." His aunt mocked him, pulling off his covers, leaving Squid shivering on his bed in just an undershirt and his shovel boxers. (AN: HAHAHAHAHAHA)  
  
Squid got out of bed, his hair a mess, and stretched and yawned. He scratched the back of his head and headed for the bathroom.  
  
"'Atta boy," His aunt smiled and walked back downstairs.  
  
"Well," Squid mumbled in the bathroom. "It's better than what my mom would do to me on the first day of school."  
  
*Flashback*  
  
"ALAN! GET YOUR SORRY ASS OUTTA BED THIS INSTANT!" His mother shrieked, clearly drunk.  
  
"Why?" Squid grumbled.  
  
"JUST GET THE HELL UP!"  
  
When Squid finally did, his mother surprised him by hitting him across the head with a beer bottle.  
  
"Ow," Squid whispered so his mother wouldn't hear him. He touched she spot where she hit him and felt warm blood.  
  
"NOT GET DRESSED AND THEN GO! I finally get you outta my house." She spat at him.  
  
"Okay," Squid obeyed.  
  
"Don't gimme that ungrateful tone!" She growled at him. "I take care of you, I give your food, clothes and shelter, and THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME!?"  
  
"Sorry, mom," Squid knew he had nothing to be sorry about, but he didn't want to get his mother worked up.  
  
"Sure ya are..." She glared. "Just like yer father... an ungrateful, selfish little bitch."  
  
*End of Flashback*  
  
Squid's mother was back in New York. She refused to take him back when he got out of camp, so she send him to live with his aunt and uncle in Houston, which, coincidently, is where the rest of the D-tent boys were living.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Zero was up at six o'clock that day. He loved the first day of school. Now that he could read and write, he felt great. He had been getting tutored over the summer to reach his grade level, which is ninth grade, so he wouldn't have to go back to sixth grade.  
  
Zero bounded down the stairs at six fifteen.  
  
"Hey mom!" He called throughout their three story house. Well, their very big house. Not yet a mansion; about halfway there.  
  
He went into her room and found her still in bed.  
  
"Mom, c'mon! Get up!" He shook her.  
  
"Hector..." She groaned and glanced at the clock. "It's six twenty. Go back to bed..."  
  
"But school starts today!" Zero protested.  
  
"You have another hour and forty minutes before it starts," His mom grumbled.  
  
Zero sighed. "Fine. How bout I make you breakfast and you be up in twenty minutes?"  
  
Anna, Zero's mom, eyed him. "Okay,"  
  
Zero smiled and went over to one of the other rooms on the second floor. The room of their cook. She was already up and was about to go down to the kitchen.  
  
"Hector! Hi! How's it goin?" She smiled brightly.  
  
He smiled back. "Hey Lindsay. We need to make my mom breakfast. We have twenty minutes. Let's get started!"  
  
She grinned cheekily. "You mean, *I* have to make breakfast for your mom. *You'll* watch."  
  
He shrugged. "That works too,"  
  
*Twenty Minutes Later*  
  
*In the Kitchen*  
  
"Okay Lindsay, Mom'll be in here in a minute. Let's make sure we got everything. Scrambled eggs?" Hector asked.  
  
"Check," Lindsay grinned.  
  
"Bacon?"  
  
"Check,"  
  
"Potatoes?"  
  
"Check,"  
  
"Fruit?"  
  
"Check,"  
  
"Pancakes and syrup?"  
  
"Check,"  
  
"And toast?"  
  
"Check!"  
  
"Okay, we got everything. Now remember, *I* made this breakfast, not you." Zero said.  
  
"Right," Lindsay winked.  
  
Anna walked in and saw all the food and gasped. She looked at Zero and then Lindsay, and then back at Zero. She grinned.  
  
"Can't fool me Mr. Zeroni,"  
  
Zero put on a big smile. "I know,"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
*7:45 am School*  
  
Stanley was walking around the school with Zero trying to find out where to get his schedule. Zero was doing the same.  
  
"HEY CAVEMAN! ZERO!" They heard someone yell out. They looked around and saw Squid and Zigzag coming their way.  
  
"Hey guys!" Caveman waved. "Do you know where we get out schedules and locker thingys?"  
  
"Yeah, the freshman are somewhere in this hall, the sophomores are a few hallways over and the juniors and seniors are in the next building." Squid told them. Him and Zigzag already had their things and had been looking for some people. Squid was a junior and Zigzag was a senior.  
  
"Thanks," Stanley went to fine the one for sophomores and Zero went over the freshman one. Squid went after Zero and Zigzag went after Stanley.  
  
"You excited for school?" Zero asked him.  
  
Squid made a little laugh. "Yeah right. I've been dreading it for months."  
  
"Oh,"  
  
"Yeah, so how about you?"  
  
"Sorta, given the fact that I've never gone to school before," Zero told him.  
  
"Oh. Well, take it from me. It sucks."  
  
Zero laughed.  
  
They got into the office and they saw Twitch there. "Hey Twitch!" Squid and Zero called, getting in line behind him.  
  
"Hey guys!" Twitch turned around and waved.  
  
"So, you and Zero are freshmen together! Isn't that exciting!" Squid clapped his hands together. Zero and Twitch stared blankly. "Well, you two can hang out together, and I'm gonna go see if I can find... someone else. Bye!"  
  
They waved good-bye and then turned to each other.  
  
"So how's it goin?" Twitch asked him.  
  
Zero shrugged. "Okay, I guess,"  
  
"You excited 'bout school?"  
  
"Sorta,'  
  
"Cool,"  
  
"Yeah,"  
  
Their conversation stopped there and it was Twitch's turn. "Name," The lady asked.  
  
"Brian Poletiek,"  
  
"Hold on one moment," The lady left and then came with a couple slips a paper and a few books.  
  
"Here, this one is your schedule," She pointed to the first sheet. "And this one is your locker number and combination." She pointed to the other sheet. "These are your books for Algebra, History, English, Science, Biology (AN: Are those the same things? I don't think so....), and your elective class, French. Next."  
  
Twitch waited with Zero while he got his schedule, locker and books. They had the same books except Zero was taking Spanish instead of French.  
  
It turns out that they had lockers next to each other so they put their books in and compared their schedules.  
  
"Okay... so it looks we only have algebra together." Twitch said, peering at both schedules.  
  
The bell above them rang and Zero grabbed his biology book and Twitch grabbed his history book and they went their separate ways.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Me: DIDYA LIKE IT?  
  
Magnet: Yeaaaaaaaaano  
  
Me: *glares*  
  
Squid: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU WONT GET ANY REVIEWS! HAHAHAHAHAHA!  
  
Me: *covers face* You guys are mean *cries*  
  
Both: O_O  
  
Zero: I'm nice!  
  
Me: YAY! ^_^  
  
Zero: See, watch me be nice! PPL R&R NOW!  
  
Me: ^_^  
  
Zero: ^_^ 


	2. Rejection

THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! And the fanfiction.net f*cks up when I try and do my muses so I won't be doing them O_O  
  
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* * *

  
Chapter 2: Rejection  
  
"Marissa Schwartz,"  
  
"Here,"  
  
"Carl Simpson,"  
  
"Here,"  
  
"Sue Studdard,"  
  
"Here,"  
  
"Nicholas Tipon,"  
  
"Here,"  
  
"Jessie Vernandez,"  
  
"Here,"  
  
"Hector Zeroni,"  
  
"Here,"  
  
It was the first class of the day, biology. They're teacher, Mr. Manon, has just finished taking role.  
  
"The first thing that happens every day is we get the announcements on the TV by out principal, Mrs. Deatherage."  
  
Just then, the TV, which was on, showed a lady with shoulder length wavy hair. She was sitting as her desk and smiling.  
  
"Hello students, and welcome back for another year! We don't have many announcements today, except that this Friday is our first dance. The Homecoming dance. There will be a meeting after school today for anyone who wishes to be on the dance committee. Thank you, and have a nice day." The TV turned off.  
  
"Now, usually on the first day of school, teachers would have the kids sit in alphabetical order and play a name game so everyone could remember each others name. Well, that's what we're gonna do." He grinned.  
  
Everyone in the class groaned.  
  
"But," He said quickly. "It's gonna be a little different. Pick out someone in the class WHO YOU DON'T KNOW," He had a gleam in his eye. "And then they will do the boring stuff. Name, where you're from, hobbies, what you did over the summer and stuff like that. And then the cycle continues. Okay, well... let's have Mr. Zeroni go first."  
  
Zero froze. He wasn't good in front of people. What would he say? Should he say he went to a Juvy camp over the summer? Oh yeah, a great way to start the year. Hi, I'm Hector Zeroni, I like digging holes, and over the summer I was sent a Juvenile Delinquent camp for stealing some shoes. Okay next! They'd love him for that.  
  
"Um, Mr. Zeroni? Please stand up and tell us about yourself." Mr. Manon told him kindly.  
  
Zero slowly stood up. "Um, my name is Hector Zeroni, and my hobbies are... um, my hobbies are..." Zero stammered, frantically trying to make up a hobby. "Basketball, and over the summer I..." Basketball? What was wrong with him? He's five foot two! He's too short for basketball! "Over the summer I... hung out at the beach with friends." He finished quickly and sat down.  
  
Mr. Manon nodded. "Very good. Now, would you like to pick someone to go next?"  
  
Zero nodded and looked around. His eyes fell on the girl Marissa. She's beautiful, He thought to himself. She had a bit longer than shoulder length blonde hair. It was perfectly straight and layered. It had little streaks of pink, blue, and black in it. She had deep blue eyes that Zero got lost in.  
  
"Ahem," Mr. Manon got his attention. "Pick someone."  
  
"Oh, um, Carl," He said and turned away so no one saw him blush.  
  


* * *

  
It was lunchtime, and the freshman's had A lunch with the sophomores. Zero found Twitch with Stanley and X-ray.  
  
"Hey guys," Zero said sitting down.  
  
"Hey Zero," They said back.  
  
"Hey, what d'you guys think of the dance this Friday?" X-ray smirked. "Anyone you guys are thinkin of asking?"  
  
Zero blushed and turned away, just like in biology. But his friends noticed.  
  
"Hey Z, what's with the blush?" Twitch nudged him.  
  
"Nothing," Zero said quickly.  
  
"Mm-hm. Who d'ya wanna ask?" X-ray asked him.  
  
Zero sighed. "This girl named Marissa. She's in my biology class."  
  
"Marissa Schwartz?" Zero nodded.  
  
"She's in my French class." Twitch told him. "She's okay lookin."  
  
"I think she's beautiful," Zero told them dreamily.  
  
"Well then go ask her out!" X-ray exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah, go on Zero. She'll say yes. Don't worry." Caveman soothed.  
  
Zero took a deep breath. "Okay," He got up to find her. (AN: GO ZERO!!!!   
  


* * *

  
He found her a few minutes later sitting with her friends. He took another deep breath and said shakily, "Um, hi Marissa."  
  
Marissa turned around and smiled at him. "Hey. You're in my biology class, right?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Yeah, you're Hector. What's up?" She smiled.  
  
"Um... I was wondering... if... um..." He gulped. "I was wondering if you wanted to..." He couldn't do it. It was just too embarrassing. But he had to now. He couldn't back out of it.  
  
"What? Want to what?" She pressed on.  
  
"Doyouwannagotothedancewithme?" He said very fast.  
  
Marissa stared. "Uh, what?"  
  
"Do you wanna go to the dance with me?" He said more calmly and slowly this time.  
  
"Oh... um... well, I sorta never thought of you and me... actually going out." She smiled. "Sorry." It didn't sound at all like she meant it. She turned around and started ignoring him.  
  
Zero was shocked. She rejected him. He thought she was going to say yes, but she said no. She said no like it didn't even matter. He slowly walked back to his friends.  
  
"So dog? What'd she say?" X-ray asked.  
  
"She said no," Zero whispered.  
  
"What?!" They were shocked.  
  
"SHE SAID NO ALRIGHT! NO! NO NO NO NO NO!" Zero shrieked and then got up and stormed off.  
  
The boys stared blankly after him.  
  
"Damn them. Telling me she would say yes. She'll like me. I know it. Sooner or later she'll come up and ask me out."  
  
"Um, Hector?" A small voice asked.  
  
Zero turned around. He saw a girl there.  
  
"Who are you?" He asked, surprisingly rudely.  
  
"Um, I'm Jessie Vernandez. I'm in your biology class. Um, I was wondering..." She had her head down, but Zero could tell she was blushing. She was pretty, but not as beautiful as Marissa was. Jessie had long, shiny, sleek black hair and she has down and it was curly. She had a few streaks of brown in her hair, and Zero thought she had green eyes, but couldn't tell.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Do you wanna go to Homecoming with me?" She whispered.  
  
Zero was surprised. Why would she ask me? He thought. He was about to say no, but then got an idea. I can go to the dance with her, and then Marissa will get jealous, and then she'll ask me out, and then Marissa and I will be a couple. It's perfect.  
  
"Sure," He said.  
  
Her head snapped up. "Really?" She squealed.  
  
He nodded and smiled.  
  
"Oh, thank you!" She ran over and hugged him and then skipped off.  
  
Zero stared after her and then started walking back to his friends. But as he was walking back, he started pondering if he was doing the right thing.  
  
REVIEW! 


	3. Idiot

Chapter 3: Idiot  
  
Zero slowly approached his friends, who were standing and talking.  
  
"Hey Zero, ya feelin' better?" Twitch asked cautiously.  
  
He nodded slowly.  
  
The bell sounded then for them to get to class.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Now it was B lunch, and Magnet, Armpit, Zigzag and Squid were eating lunch together. They were talking about the dance too.  
  
"Man, there's this really hot girl in my science class. She is SO fine!" Armpit exclaimed.  
  
The guys laughed.  
  
"Um, excuse me?" They heard a voice. They turned around and saw a hideous looking girl. She had messy red hair that was put up in pig tails, big glasses and braces; she had a lot of acne and was wearing was looked like a school uniform. She had on a plaid skirt and a white button up shirt and ugly black sneakers.  
  
"Um, yeah?" Squid asked.  
  
"Um, you're Alan right?" She smiled.  
  
"Yes... why?"  
  
"Will you go to the dance with me?"  
  
His eyes widened and he looked at his friends. They were just as shocked.  
  
"Um... ya know, you're not really my... my type..." He said, looking her up and down.  
  
"Why not?" She asked.  
  
"Well... you just... aren't," He answered, trying to be polite.  
  
"Oh... okay... well, that's one more rejection from me... they were right... I'll never get a date..." She ran off.  
  
"Whoa..." Squid turned back to his friends. "That was weird."  
  
"Man, she's hecka ugly!" Armpit exclaimed laughing.  
  
"Yeah... man, what a nerd!" Zigzag said.  
  
"Hey guys," Magnet got their attention. "I already have a date for Friday." He grinned.  
  
"Really? What's her name?" Squid asked.  
  
"Kristi. Kristi Hart. She is so hot." Magnet smiled even wider.  
  
"What's she look like?" Armpit asked.  
  
"She's got raven black hair and olive green eyes. She's just amazing."  
  
"Sounds like a hottie,"  
  
"Man Armpit, do you even shut up about girls?" Magnet snapped at him.  
  
"When it comes to girls... no," Armpit smiled evilly.  
  
They rolled their eyes.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Zero invited the guys back to his house after school that day. They were all gathered in his room, talking about the dance. (AN: Surprise, surprise)  
  
"Hey guys. I gotta ask ya somethin." Zero told them.  
  
"What is it?" They asked him.  
  
"Um... well, this girl asked me to go to the dance with her. Her name's Jessie. But I feel like I'm using her."  
  
"Why?" Armpit asked, an eyebrow raised.  
  
"'Cause I like this girl named Marissa Schwartz. I asked her to the dance, but she said no. The only reason I said yes to Jessie was to make Marissa jealous." Zero looked at the ground.  
  
"Ooooooooooooh," The guys said in unison.  
  
"What should I do?" Zero asked desperately.  
  
"Give her a chance. Ya never know. She could be the one for you." Squid told him.  
  
"Ya, like you and that nerdy girl," Zigzag laughed.  
  
"Shut up man," Squid shoved him.  
  
"You should've given HER a chance," Magnet smirked.  
  
"Stop it guys. She was ugly."  
  
"So? How do you know she's not 'the one'?" Armpit snickered.  
  
"SHUT THE HELL UP! God, you guys will never stop, will ya?" Squid growled.  
  
"Sorry," They murmured.  
  
"Hey Zero, who was the girl you said... uh, rejected you?" Twitch chose his words cautiously.  
  
"Marissa Schwartz,"  
  
"Okay... gotta remember that name..." Twitch muttered,  
  
"Wait, Marissa Schwartz? She's a freshman right?" Zigzag asked suddenly.  
  
"Yeah... why?" Zero looked suspicious.  
  
"Oh... no reason," Zigzag paled and looked away. "Um... I gotta go. I gotta help my sister with something. Um... bye." Zigzag hurried out of the room.  
  
The boys looked at each other and shrugged.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Zigzag was walking home slowly. He couldn't believe what an idiot he was. Zero likes Marissa Schwartz. He was dating a girl just so he could get her jealous. Made sense. But not now. He was such an idiot.  
  
He couldn't believe he'd said yes to her.  
  
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.............. Um ya ok review! 


	4. Homecoming

THE MUSES ARE BACK!  
  
Zero: YAY!  
  
Magnet: -_-  
  
Squid: Boo  
  
Me: Shut up  
  
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Chapter 4: Homecoming  
  
It was Friday night, the night of the Homecoming Dance. All eight D-Tent boys were outside waiting for their dates.  
  
Zigzag didn't want to tell anyone about his date, so no one knew who his was. Twitch was going out with a girl named Carla Smith. She had long, blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. Zero's date was, of course, Jessie Vernandez. X-Ray was going with a Mexican girl who had dark black hair and puppy dog brown eyes, named Carmen. Armpit and Caveman didn't have a dates. Squid was going out with one of the so called popular girls. His date's name was Sammi Miller, who had blue hair. Magnet was going with Kristi.  
  
First to show up was Sammi, wearing an extremely slutty dress. When she saw Squid, she batted her eyelashes at him.  
  
"Hi Alan," She smiled.  
  
"Hey Sammi," Squid grinned cockily and extended his arm to her. He led her inside, leaving the rest of the guys to wait.  
  
Then, Jessie and Carmen arrived together, Jessie wearing a baby blue dress and Carmen in a black one. Jessie took a deep breath and walked up to Zero.  
  
"Hi," She said, breathlessly.  
  
"Hey," Zero smiled and led her inside, X-Ray and Carmen behind him.  
  
Now, only Zigzag, Twitch, Armpit and Caveman were left outside. Since Armpit and Caveman didn't have dates, they went inside to get a drink. That left Zigzag and Twitch.  
  
Carla came next, wearing a bright green dress with a green car pin pinned onto the side of her dress. Twitch looked nervous as he escorted her inside.  
  
Zigzag was the only one left. He waited patiently for his date to arrive.  
  
She finally showed up, wearing a white polka dotted dress. The dots on her dress matched her hair: yellow, pink, blue, and black.  
  
"Wanna go in?" She asked slyly.  
  
"Sure," Zigzag escorted her into the gym.  
  
Their school gym was huge, and was decorated with black and white banners and balloons all around. There was a big sign that read 'Homecoming Dance of 2003-2004'  
  
"Wanna dance?" Zig's date asked, and without waiting for an answer, she led him on the dance floor and started freak dancing with him.  
  
After a minute, Zigzag got into it and started touching her. Soon, everyone was gathered around them, watching. Zigzag didn't realize how bad that was.  
  
"Zig?" They heard someone call. Zigzag turned around and saw his friends, including Zero, who had his mouth wide open.  
  
"Zero... I can explain..." Zigzag stuttered.  
  
"NO YOU CAN'T!" Zero stormed out of the gym, Jessie following, somewhat fearful, behind.  
  
"Damn him... how could he do that to me... he's such an idiot..." Zero was murmuring to himself.  
  
"It's okay Hector..." Jessie said from behind him.  
  
Zero didn't answer, but kept walking.  
  
"What did he do anyway?" Jessie asked a few minutes later.  
  
Zero wiped around. "Oh, he only went out with the girl I love! He even KNEW I loved her! That's all!"  
  
"The... the girl... you love?" Jessie whispered.  
  
"Yes, you heard me! THE GIRL I LOVE! I don't love you Jessie. I don't even like you! I just used you to make Marissa jealous of me!" Zero yelled at her.  
  
Jessie's eyes filled with tears and she ran back into the gym.  
  
Zero sighed and gripped his hair and sat down. Why did he do that? Why did he just say that to Jessie? She didn't deserve to know that. He's such an idiot.  
  
"I'm such a bastard!" He told himself.  
  
He heard someone run outside. More like two someone's. Two girls.  
  
He hid behind a bush so he could hear what they were talking about.  
  
"You don't know what he said to me, do you, Carmen?!" Someone shrieked.  
  
"No! But why don't you tell me!" Carmen yelled back.  
  
"He... he told me... that..." The girl trailed off and sat down sobbing. Zero knew instantly who it was.  
  
"Jessie," He whispered.  
  
"Sh.... It's okay..." Carmen sat down next to her. "It's okay... you don't hafta tell me..."  
  
"No... I want to..." Jessie took a deep breath. "He told me that he loves Marissa Schwartz. He said he doesn't even like me... he was just using me to make Marissa jealous..." She started crying again.  
  
"Oh my gosh... Sh, don't cry... he's not worth it... he's a bastard. Why don't you come over to my house... we can watch a horror movie and get so scared you won't even think about Hector!" Carmen suggested.  
  
Jessie smiled. "Okay, let's go." And they left together.  
  
Zero came out of his hiding space and slowly walked into the gym.  
  
"Hey Zero, what happened?" Caveman asked. "We saw Jessie run in crying and then she ran back out with Carmen following her."  
  
Zero took a deep breath. "I was so mad that I told Jessie why I went out with her,"  
  
They all gasped.  
  
"Zero!" Zigzag came through the crowd.  
  
Zero looked up and saw Zigzag. He glared at him.  
  
"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU BASTARD!"  
  
Zero ran out of the gym, heading home.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Zero sat in his room, thinking. Why did it hurt so much? Why was he hurting so much if he didn't like Jessie? If he didn't like her, he wouldn't even be thinking about her right now. But, maybe he was lying. Maybe he was lying to himself. Maybe he did like Jessie.  
  
But he was nowhere near ready for what would happen tomorrow.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Zero: OMG CLIFFHANGER!  
  
Magnet: -_- No really  
  
Squid: This sucks. I wanna go home *pouts*  
  
Me: *thwacks him* Shut up  
  
Jessie: OMG ZERO YOU'RE A BITCH!  
  
Zero: Noooooo! Jessie, I LOVE YOU!  
  
Jessie: NO YOU DON'T! AH WHY AM I HERE?  
  
Me: ... Okay, my muses are acting up. You better review, or they might never settle this fight!  
  
Reviewers: Oh no! 


	5. Why Is Life So Confusing?

Me: Okay HI! I'm very, VERY disappointed in you! I only got like, four of five reviews for the last chapter! O_O if you don't start reviewing again, I might never update again! Always, something very, very bad is gonna happen in this chapter!  
  
Zero: Really? What?  
  
Squid: Maybe... the author will die... and we'll be free to rule the world...  
  
Magnet: -_-  
  
Jessie: And I will KILL ZERO!  
  
Magnet: -_-  
  
Squid: O_O  
  
Me: Uh, no you won't *holds Jessie back*  
  
Zero: *hiding behind a chair*  
  
Me: ... Keep reading to find out what happens!  
  
Adrianna: OMG I KNOW! *jumps up and down like an idiot* CAUSE YOU TOLD ME WHAT HAPPENS! SO I KNOW! WHAT HAPPENS IS-  
  
Me: *hits her* SHUT UP! *smiles at readers* Keep reading!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 5: Why Is Life So Confusing?  
  
Zero slept in that morning till eleven o 'clock. He stretched and yawned and groggily got out of bed. He got dressed and walked downstairs. Today was Lindsay's day off, so Zero got himself some cereal. While he was eating, his mom called his in to the living room.  
  
"Hector! Come in here and see this!" She called to him.  
  
Zero got up and went into the living room. He sat next to his mom on the couch, who was watching the news.  
  
"Today," The TV reported started. "Local Houston residents Jessie Vernandez and Carmen Sanchez were reported missing very early this morning. What apparently happened was the girls were in Carmen's room watching a movie when someone, probably a man, came out through her upstairs window. He most likely told them not to scream, and threatened them with a weapon, but the girls, obviously trained well, screamed. They awoke Carmen's parents, and who ran upstairs, but by the time they got there, the girls were gone, and there were little droplets of blood on the carpet. The blood is being tested, as the police don't know if the blood belongs to one of the girls, or the kidnapper. We'll be back later with new news."  
  
Zero was in shock. Jessie was gone. Jessie had been kidnapped. It was then that Zero realized how he really felt.  
  
He got up and started walking out of the room.  
  
"Hector? Where are you going?" His mom called after him.  
  
"Um... I gotta meet my friends somewhere. I'll be back later." And he walked out the door.  
  
He took out his phone and called all of the guys (except Zig) and told them to meet him at the Yard (AN: I just got that from the Milkshake song, cuz it's wut im listenin to rite now... so ya).  
  
He was the first one to get there. Right after him, Magnet and Kristi came, holding hands. Then Squid came with Sammi and Caveman came with a girl that he probably met the night before; her name was Kayla.  
  
Zero was starting to wonder why they all had their girlfriends with them.  
  
Then Twitch came with Carla, (AN: Jessica, you are Carla! I repeat, you are Carla!) and Armpit came alone and last, X-Ray came... alone.  
  
Zero sat down and asked them, "Did you see the news today?"  
  
They all shook their heads, even X-Ray.  
  
Zero sighed. How was he going to tell them? Well, he had to now. He had no choice.  
  
"Um... well, Jessie and... and Carmen... were kidnapped." He glanced at X-Ray, who had gone pale.  
  
All the other guys gasped, and Kristi, Carla, and Kayla put their hands over their mouths. Sammi didn't do anything.  
  
"How?" X-Ray whispered.  
  
Zero shrugged. "Someone just... kidnapped them. Last night."  
  
They could see tears forming behind X-Ray's thick glasses. "Um... I gotta go... bye." He ran out of the Yard.  
  
"I'll go after him," Armpit offered, and followed him out.  
  
They stared at the door for a minute when they were interrupted.  
  
"Hey guys. Sorry I'm late." Zigzag came in the door, with Marissa clutching his arm.  
  
Zero stared at him in shock, and then at the guys. All the guys were as surprised as him... except Squid.  
  
Zero glared at him. "Why you-"  
  
"Zero, just chill man," Caveman calmed him down.  
  
Zero glared at him too. "Leave him alone, you-"  
  
"Well, well, well, look who it is. It's our little 'group'" Came a snobby voice from behind them. They turned and saw the sluttiest freshman, and probably in the whole school. Her name was Janet.  
  
"What do you want?" Zero glared.  
  
She smirked. "Nothing much," Her eyes wandered around. They landed on Sammi. "Why Sammi! What are you doing hanging around with... these people?"  
  
Sammi looked around and smirked. "I don't know, Janet. But I shouldn't be here. You're right." Sammi got up and stood by Janet and her posse. She sneered at Squid. "It was fun."  
  
Janet's eyes lingered again. This time they landed on Kristi and Magnet. She clucked her tongue.  
  
"Kristi. I would've never expected this from you!" She pretended to sound shocked.  
  
Kristi looked confused. "What d'you mean?"  
  
She smirked. "I mean you and Magnet. You guys shouldn't rush into things!"  
  
Kristi raised her eyebrows. "You wouldn't-"  
  
"Oh, but I would," She sneered. "I bet you guys didn't know this, but last night, while Jessie and Carmen were being taken away, Kristi and Magnet were having fun. Having sex."  
  
"How did you know?" Magnet asked, anger in his voice.  
  
"Don't blame me! You guys were careless. You did it in front of a window. Someone saw you guys doing it."  
  
They all smirked and walked away. Kristi had put her head in her hands and was shaking, which showed that she was probably crying.  
  
Magnet rubbed her back. "Shh... it's okay." He glanced at his friends, who were staring at him, mouths hanging open.  
  
Just then, some senior guys came bounding in and looked around. They saw Zigzag, with Marissa sitting on his lap, and pounced over to him.  
  
"Hey Ricky man! You gotta be the luckiest guy ever!" They started slapping him on the back.  
  
Zigzag looked confused. "What'd I do?"  
  
They gestured toward Marissa. "You and Marissa, man! Dude! How many guys get to do it with her!"  
  
Zigzag paled and he looked in horror towards his friends. They were staring at him with their mouths open. Zero looked furious.  
  
He stormed out of the Yard. He couldn't believe Zigzag. Wait! Why was he even mad at Zigzag? He thought he had already declared that he loved Jessie?! Everything was just WAY too confusing!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Me: OMG!  
  
Adrianna: I KNEW THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!  
  
Jessie: Okay... YOU'RE GETTING ME KIDNAPPED NOW?! YOU'RE EVIL!  
  
Squid: Welcome to my world... -_-  
  
Magnet: -_-  
  
Me: Magnet, you're so boring  
  
Megan: -_-  
  
Zero: WHO AM I GONNA END UP WITH? WHO DO I LOVE? YOU'RE CONFUSING ME!  
  
Adrianna: *bounces* NOT ME! CAUSE I KNOW! YOU'RE GONNA END UP WITH-  
  
Me: OKAY! *hits Adrianna* ENOUGH! REVIEW! 


	6. Dead Lines

Me: Hey! Sorry for the wait! I was grounded for losing my retainer... again! HAHAHA!  
  
Squid: Ha loser  
  
Me: *hits him* SHUT UP!  
  
Magnet: -_-  
  
Zero: ...  
  
Jessie: ZERO I'M GONNA KILL YOUR SORRY ASS! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN!  
  
Zigzag: Here, use this lighter!  
  
Jessie: OKAY!  
  
Zero: HELP!  
  
Me: ... Oh and I deleted the old Ch 6 cuz it was BAD! Just so ya know  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 6: Dead Lines  
  
At the beginning of November, Zero got some startling news.  
  
"Zero, Marissa is pregnant with my child,"  
  
When Zigzag told him, Zero's eye's widened.  
  
"What?" He asked, making sure that his ears weren't deceiving him.  
  
"Marissa is pregnant with my child," Zigzag repeated, more slowly.  
  
"My God... what's wrong with you?!" Zero exclaimed.  
  
Zigzag looked at the ground. "I don't know... it just sorta happened..."  
  
Zero took a deep breath. "Well, hopefully all that happened was a baby... you don't wanna end up with HIV... or AIDS..."  
  
"Do you think I could get that?" Zigzag asked quickly, looking up at Zero.  
  
Zero shrugged. "It's possible,"  
  
Zigzag looked uncomfortable.  
  
"But the chances of it are very slim," Zero reassured him quickly.  
  
"I hope so..."  
  
When Zero got home from school that day, he turned on the TV. He wanted to check the news for anything new about Jessie and Carmen.  
  
"And in other news," The reporter said as he started a new subject. "Carmen Sanchez and Jessie Vernandez were found today, with no memory of escaping from where they were or of whom they were taken by. They haven't been able to tell the police anything yet. They are currently at the hospital, as they have many bruises and may have experienced slight concussions. More at eleven."  
  
Zero stared shocked at the television. Jessie was found... she and Carmen were alright... he had to go find them...  
  
He bounded out of the house, running to the hospital. As he ran, he called his friends and told them the news and to meet them at the hospital. None of the guys were there when he got to the hospital, so he asked the clerk at the front desk what room Jessie and Carmen were in. She pointed him to a room on the third floor and he proceeded up to them.  
  
It turned out that they were sharing a room, and at the moment, they were both asleep. Zero instantly knew what they meant about the bruises. Both girls had cuts all over their arms, heads, and, Zero guessed, their legs. Jessie had a bandage over her nose, which signaled that her nose was broken. Carmen had a broken arm and a black eye.  
  
Zero sat next to Jessie and took her hand. He looked at her. Even though he had barely known her for a week, he felt like he'd known her for a lifetime. He loved her so much, and it hurt him to see her like this.  
  
Next to come was X-Ray, who took no notice of Zero or Jessie; he just sat down by Carmen, stroked her hand, and cried silently.  
  
Next to arrive was Stanley. Then Squid, Twitch, Magnet, Zigzag, and Armpit came. They all sat around the room, silently watching the girls.  
  
Finally, after about an hour, Carmen stirred. She slowly opened her eyes.  
  
"R-rex?" She whispered. "Is that you?"  
  
"Yes, yes it's me," He answered her. "How are you feeling?"  
  
She moaned. "I feel... terrible..."  
  
"Sh," X-Ray told her. "Sh, you're okay now..."  
  
"How's Jessie?" Carmen asked softly.  
  
"She's fine...why?" Zero asked curiously.  
  
Carmen's eyes filled with tears. "If I was her... I wouldn't have been able to live..."  
  
"Why? What happened?" Zero was very anxious now.  
  
"Well... I don't know is she wants me to tell you... It was horrible..." She let out a little sob.  
  
"Please... tell me Carmen..." Zero asked quietly.  
  
Carmen took a shaky breath. "Well, the... man who took us was... terrible. Mostly to Jessie though. He... Well, to me, he... um, he..." Carmen broke down again.  
  
"Sh, it's okay... you don't hafta tell us..." X-Ray whispered, allowing her to cry into his chest.  
  
"I want to... but I can't... not yet..." Carmen answered shakily.  
  
Then, Jessie stirred. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around. She glanced at Carmen.  
  
"Carmen... where are we?" She asked lazily.  
  
"Hospital..." Carmen answered softly.  
  
She looked around and saw Zero sitting next to her.  
  
"What are you doing here?" She spat at him.  
  
Zero looked surprised. "I—"  
  
She cut him off. "I don't wanna hear it. Get out."  
  
Zero stared, shocked. Why would she talk to him like that? Then he remembered what he had said to her.  
  
"Look Jessie, I—"  
  
She cut him off again.  
  
"Get out! NOW!" She practically yelled.  
  
Zero looked around at the other guys. Then, he got up slowly and left. He started toward home. Jessie hated him. How could he deal with this? It was his fault they were kidnapped... if he hadn't exploded on Jessie, she wouldn't've gone to Carmen's that night... but Carmen would've been taken anyway... but it was Zero's fault Jessie was taken.  
  
Later that night, Zero received a call from Squid. He sounded anxious.  
  
"Zero... I need help... he-he's back..."  
  
Zero could hear yells in the background.  
  
"Back? Who's back? Squid?" Zero panicked.  
  
"My-my dad—"  
  
The line went dead.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Me: OMG!  
  
Squid: AM I GONNA DIE?  
  
Zigzag: AM I GONNA DIE OF AIDS?  
  
Magnet: -_-  
  
Megan: -_-  
  
Jessie: ZERO I'LL KILL YOU!  
  
Zero: HELP!  
  
Adrianna: OMG IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW! AND I GOT MY CARTILIDGE YESTERDAY!  
  
Me: SHUT UP! You make me sad *tear* REVIEW! 


	7. Insane Brother

Me: Okay I'm back! My muses are on vacation so they will no be with us today. So sad... oh well!  
  
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Chapter 7: Insane Brother  
  
Zero stared at the phone for a moment, taking in what had just happened. Then, as if waking up from a dream, he suddenly sprinted out of his house and over to Squid's, which was about five blocks away.  
  
When he finally got there, he entered Squid's house, panting. Before he entered, he noted a strange car in the driveway.  
  
When he got in the house, he heard instant commotion. There were drops of blood in the hall. Zero followed them and he stumbled onto a little girl, limp and bleeding, with a women who was probably her mother cradling her and sobbing softly.  
  
"Oh my God... what happened?" Zero asked the woman.  
  
The woman jumped slightly and whispered urgently, "SH! You don't want him to hear you..."  
  
"Who?" Zero whispered back.  
  
"My insane brother... he's come back for Alan... when I wouldn't let him have him, he attacked my daughter.... My husband is fighting him off now..."  
  
Zero ran out of the hallway. He pulled out his phone and called the ambulance and then police. Then he rushed upstairs to all the yelling.  
  
"GET HERE NOW YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Someone yelled.  
  
"NEVER! I'LL *NEVER* GO WITH YOU!" Squid's voice screamed back.  
  
Zero peeked into the room. He saw one man yelling at Squid, who was yelling back, his nose bleeding. There was blood everywhere, and in the corner of the room was another man who's lip and nose were bleeding, including scratches in his arm, a few of which were bleeding.  
  
"YOU'RE COMING WITH ME THIS INSTANT!" The man roared at Squid.  
  
"NO!" Squid yelled, trying to push past his father, but his dad took a swing at him and then Squid was lying motionless on the ground. Squid's dad took out a switchblade and started toward Squid slowly, muttering so softly under his breath that Zero couldn't make out the words.  
  
"STOP!" Zero cried.  
  
Squid's dad slowly approached him, the switchblade still gripped in his strong fingers. Without warning, he gripped Zero by the collar and held him against the wall. Zero struggled, but he couldn't get away.  
  
"What did you say?" Squid's dad breathed. His face was red from anger.  
  
"Don't hurt Squid," Zero answered back firmly.  
  
Squid's father chuckled. "Does Alan have himself a boy friend? You guys would be cute together," He smirked. "But... I can't let you leave unhurt..."  
  
He pulled the switchblade back and made a shot for Zero's head, but Zero, being very flexible, twisted out of the way. Zero then kicked him in the balls and he loosened his grip instantly.  
  
Zero ran to Squid and woke him up.  
  
"Squid... we gotta get outta here... now..." Zero panted.  
  
Squid nodded and then his eyes widened in shock.  
  
"What? What's wrong?" Zero asked, anxious.  
  
"ZERO! GET OUTTA THE WAY!" Squid screamed.  
  
But before Zero could turn around, he felt a sear of pain pierce his back, and then blackness.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Me: Sorry it's so short... and don't worry! My muses will be back next chapter! 


	8. Warm Blood

Me: Hi people! I'm having writers block on what's gonna happen to Zero so this chapter it going to be a lil different...  
  
Squid: You suck at writing  
  
Magnet: -_-  
  
Megan: -_-  
  
Zero: *whispers* Will I die?  
  
Jessie: YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Zigzag: I love you Adri  
  
Adri: I love you Ricky  
  
Zigzag: ^_^  
  
Me: And for this chapter, the rating is now R. If you don't like rape or cutting, don't read this chapter.  
  
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Chapter 8: Warm Blood  
  
Jessie was lying in her hospital bed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the horrors of the past few months out of her head. They kept coming back. She hated it. She started to cry when she thought about it... Carmen was lucky... he hadn't hurt her like he'd hurt Jessie...  
  
As she thought that, another memory came flooding back...  
  
*Flackback*  
  
"Jessie... where are we?" Carmen whispered.  
  
"I don't know..." Jessie whispered back.  
  
"SHUT UP!" Someone roared into the dark.  
  
Carmen and Jessie instantly fell quiet, terrified of what he could do to them.  
  
"You... come with me..." As he said that, he hit Jessie around the head. Jessie whimpered silently, but followed anyway.  
  
The man gripped her wrist and threw her into a room, which was as dark as the first one.  
  
"Don't say a word..." He growled and Jessie suddenly felt immediate pain on her arm, and then the warm sensation of blood. Jessie's eyes filled her tears, but she refused to make a sound.  
  
She then felt the cold blade slash her other arm, and more warm blood.  
  
Now he was taking off her clothes and touching her in places where Jessie would never, *ever* let anyone touch her. Her eyes burned with tears of anger and pain, but she still refused to make a sound.  
  
Then, without warning, he injected himself into her. Jessie couldn't take it. She screamed. It was filled with so much more pain than she could ever imagine. She had always wanted her first time to be pleasant, with someone she loved. But instead, it was with an insane madman whom she couldn't see, and it was forced. Nothing could be pleasant about that.  
  
As soon as she screamed, she felt more pain. He dug himself even deeper into her, and she felt the blade cut deeper into her arms. She stopped screaming, hoping the pain would end soon.  
  
But it didn't. The pain didn't stop until ten minutes later, and Jessie felt that she almost went crazy herself. When he did stop, he stood over her said menacingly, "It will be worse for you... I told you not to scream, but you did... so now you get it worse... GET OUT!"  
  
*End of Flashback*  
  
Jessie sobbed. That time was the worst, mostly because she wasn't expecting it. But it was always painful... and she got it every single day...  
  
*Flashback*  
  
It has become regular for Jessie. Carmen didn't get it as much; she got it once a week. Jessie got it more because she screamed.  
  
Everyday, he made it longer; he went in more and more each time and he cut her deeper. He cut her on her arms, legs, and face.  
  
*End of Flashback*  
  
Jessie was weeping now. It was hard to live through it once, but instead, she kept revisiting it. She brushed her black hair out of her eyes and wiped her drenched face.  
  
Actually, the one thing she liked about those days was the cutting. After a while, she got used to it, and she started to like it. She liked feeling that pain, and she loved the feeling of blood escaping her veins.  
  
Jessie looked around in the dark. Her eyes fell on some scissors on a table next to her. She picked them up and plunged them into her arm.  
  
She loved this. She loved reliving this pain. She loved watching her blood leave her. Maybe she was crazy. But she didn't care. All she cared about was feeling the blood leave her body.  
  
Suddenly, she heard some nurses talking urgently, coming dangerously near her room.  
  
Jessie threw the scissors away quickly, wrapped up her bloodied arm, and pretended she was asleep, just as the nurses entered her room  
  
"Should we tell her?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Me: HA HA HA.  
  
Squid: What?  
  
Me: I don't know.  
  
Magnet: -_-  
  
Megan: -_-  
  
Zig: I love you Adri.  
  
Adri: I love you Ricky.  
  
Jessie: *yawn*  
  
Zero: I died. 


	9. If I Cound Find You

Me: This chapter is taking so F*CKEN long to write!  
  
Squid: Haha......... *dies*  
  
Me: ... Anyway....  
  
Magnet: -_-  
  
Megan: I FRICKIN LOVE YOU MAGNET!!!!!  
  
Magnet: LIKE OMG!  
  
Adrianna: I'm tired...  
  
Me: Okay, yeah, whatever... OMG 45 days until the big day!  
  
Adrianna: AND I'M GOING!!!!!!!!!  
  
Megan: AND I'M NOT! I WASN'T FRICKIN INVITED!  
  
Me: Sorry! You live to far away, Ohio person... Omg I could post my speech on FictionPress and you guys could like, read it and like, review for it! No it's very bad... oh well, chapter time!  
  
Chapter 9: If I Could Find You  
  
Zero's head hurt like hell. He didn't open his eyes, although he knew that it was daytime. He thought if he opened his eyes, it'd make his head hurt even more.  
  
He decided to try, to see where he was. He opened them very little, and saw something fuzzy... it looked like... vanilla ice cream... with chocolate syrup on top...  
  
Oh wait, he thought, when his vision became clearer. It's just Squid.  
  
"Zero? Zero! You're awake, man; you're awake!" Zero was pulled into a bone-crushing hug; well, it was more like a headlock.  
  
"Squid... can't breathe..." Zero chocked, and Squid instantly let go of him.  
  
"Sorry Zero... its just... you were... gone..." Squid stuttered.  
  
"Huh?" Zero asked, confused.  
  
"Um... Zero... you were in a coma for a month," Squid told him.  
  
"What?!" Zero shot up in bed. "What happened?"  
  
"You don't remember?" Squid asked.  
  
Zero slowly shook his head. "I might, but it hurts my head to think,"  
  
Squid took a breath. "Okay, well, you came over to my house because my dad was there... and he... he killed my cousin and uncle... and you came to help... and he hit you around the head... and you've been in a coma since... and the doctors said you might have amnesia."  
  
"Okay..." Zero said.  
  
"Have you... eh... forgotten anything?" Squid asked cautiously.  
  
"No... well... I don't think so..."  
  
Squid let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God,"  
  
"So..." Zero started. "How's Jessie?"  
  
Squid's face turned serious. "She's good... I guess. The last time I saw her she was good."  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Zero asked quickly.  
  
"Well... I don't know. No one's really seen her for a while. Well, we have, but no one has really heard anything. She comes to school and stuff, but she doesn't talk to anyone but Carmen, and she won't talk to us or anything. And... she's Goth."  
  
Zero stared at Squid for a moment. "Goth?"  
  
Squid nodded. "Yeah... she comes to school in really baggy clothes and chains and spikes and that stuff. We don't know why, but she does."  
  
Zero bent down and gripped his hair.  
  
"Hey Zero, what's wrong man?" Squid asked.  
  
"Nothing," Zero mumbled. "Go away."  
  
Squid nodded and left Zero's room.  
  
Zero was deep in thought when Squid left.  
  
'It's all my fault,' Zero thought. 'Everything... Jessie and Carmen getting kidnapped, Jessie turning Goth... and whatever's wrong with her.'  
  
~There's a place off Ocean Avenue~  
  
~Where I used to sit and talk with you~  
  
~We were both sixteen and it felt so right~  
  
~Sleepin' all day, stayin' up all night~  
  
~Stayin' up all night~  
  
'GODDAMNIT! What's wrong with me?' A tear rolled down Zero's cheek.  
  
~There's a place on the corner of Cherry Street~  
  
~We would walk on the beach in our bare feet~  
  
~We were both 18 and it felt so right~  
  
~Sleepin' all day, stayin' up all night~  
  
~Stayin' up all night~  
  
'What should I do...? I have to make it up to her... somehow...' Zero told himself.  
  
~If I could find you now things would get better~  
  
~We could leave this town and run forever~  
  
~Let your waves crash down on me and take me away~  
  
'If I could fine her now... things would be so much better...'  
  
~There's a piece of you that's here with me~  
  
~It's everywhere I go, it's everything I see~  
  
~When I sleep, I dream and it gets me by~  
  
~I can make believe that you're here tonight~  
  
~That you're here tonight~  
  
'I'm gonna find her,' Zero hopped out of his bed and got dressed, removing his IV.  
  
~If I could find you now things would get better~  
  
~We could leave this town and run forever~  
  
~I know somewhere, somehow we'll be together~  
  
~Let your waves crash down on me and take me away~  
  
He climbed out of his hospital room, since it was on the first floor, despite the fact that it was broad daylight. He sprinted to the nearest payphone and looked up Jessie's address.  
  
~I remember the look in your eyes~  
  
~When I told you that this was goodbye~  
  
~You were begging me not tonight~  
  
~Not here, not now~  
  
~We're looking up at the same night sky~  
  
~And keep pretending the sun will not rise~  
  
~Be together for one more night~  
  
~Somewhere, somehow~  
  
He found her and saw that she lived on the other side of town. 'Well, better start running.'  
  
~If I could find you now things would get better~  
  
~We could leave this town and run forever~  
  
~I know somewhere, somehow we'll be together~  
  
~Let your waves crash down on me and take me away~  
  
Ten minutes later, Zero arrived, panting at the front of Jessie's house. He caught his breath for a minute before knocking on her door.  
  
She answered it and Zero was shocked by her appearance. Her curly brown/black, curly hair was now but above her should, was all black and very straight. She was wearing TONS of black eyeliner and had dark lipstick on. She was wearing extremely baggy black pants and there were chains hanging off of them. She had a baggy black sweatshirt on that had a skull right on the front. And her earring where hugs with spikes sticking and her eyebrow had two spikes pointing out the top and bottom.  
  
"J-Jessie?" Zero stuttered.  
  
Jessie stared at him for a minute. "Hector?"  
  
Zero nodded.  
  
Jessie glared. "What do you want?"  
  
"I wanted to say... I'm sorry," Zero was still panting slightly.  
  
"No you're not," Jessie spat. "You're not sorry. You're just saying that."  
  
"No! Really! I am!" Zero cried.  
  
"Shut up," Jessie snapped. "I hate your sorry ass. Get the fuck away from me."  
  
Then, she suddenly grabbed her stomach.  
  
"Oh... oh my God..." She moaned, her eyes closed tight and she started breathing deeply.  
  
"Jessie!?" Zero jumped to her side instantly but she swatted him away.  
  
"Go away," She growled at him, starting to sweat.  
  
"What's wrong?" He asked her urgently.  
  
"Nothing... shut up... call the hospital..." She sat down, clutching her stomach.  
  
Zero whipped out his call phone and dialed 911.  
  
"Hi... I have a problem with a girl... she's... uh, she's..."  
  
"Having a baby," Jessie said through clenched teeth.  
  
"She's—what?" Zero exclaimed.  
  
"DAMNIT HECTOR!" Jessie screamed.  
  
"Sorry... she's having a baby... yeah, 101 Dean Way... Okay... bye..." Zero ran into Jessie's while still on the phone and got a towel, drenched it with warm water, and ran back outside and used it to wipe Jessie's forehead.  
  
"Thanks, Hector," Jessie whispered, in pain.  
  
"Anytime," Zero told her.  
  
The paramedics arrived a few minutes and quickly put her on a stretcher and too her to the hospital with Zero.  
  
"Ma'am, are you sure you're having a baby?" One of the doctors asked her.  
  
"Yeah... well no... it's a miscarriage," Jessie whispered.  
  
"Oh..."  
  
As the doctors were taking Jessie into the emergency room, Jessie whispered, "Hector... don't leave me... please..." and she started to cry.  
  
"Never..." Zero told her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Okay I don't have time for muses cause I gotta go to bed but I hope you liked it... I finally updated! Anyway, night-night and review! 


	10. Your Fault

Me: HELLOOOOOOO everyone! I am SOO happy ya'll reviewed, and I'm hoping with this chapter to reach 100 reviews! ^_^  
  
Shannon: OMG I'M A MUSE NOW! YAY!  
  
Me: Err... yup.  
  
Adri: HI SHANNON!  
  
Shannon: HI ADRI!  
  
Adri: WHAT'S UP?  
  
Shannon: NOT MUCH!!!!!  
  
Adri: AWESOME!  
  
Squid: SHUT UP!  
  
Me: Um, sure, yeah, anyways, please review! (After you read) OH! And I almost forgot! I forgot to mention in the last chapter that I do NOT own the song Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard and in this chapter, I do not own the song Everytime by Britney Spears.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 10: Your Fault  
  
Zero was waiting in the waiting room at the hospital. He was pacing around and around, waiting to go in to see Jessie. She had wanted him to stay with her, but the doctors didn't let him. He had to wait until all of this was over.  
  
A miscarriage... was that why Jessie started wearing baggy clothes? Because she was... pregnant? Had she gone Goth because of that? That didn't make sense to him. Nothing made sense to him right now.  
  
"Hector Zeroni?" A voice said from behind Zero.  
  
Zero whipped around. "Yes? Can I see her now?"  
  
The doctor who had said his name nodded. "Her request was to see you,"  
  
"Okay... what room is she in?"  
  
"Room 5 on floor 3,"  
  
"Thanks," Zero rushed to the elevator and got to floor three. Room 5 was right down the hall, so he got there pretty quickly.  
  
"J-Jessie?" Zero asked cautiously as he peaked into her room.  
  
Jessie was crying. She sniffed and looked up. "Come in," She told him.  
  
Zero pulled a chair up to her band and sat down. He stared at her for a few minutes and then asked, "What happened?"  
  
Jessie looked up at him and stared into his chocolate eyes. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean... what's been going on with you in the past month? I was in a coma... I don't know if you knew..." He said.  
  
"Yeah, I knew," She said.  
  
"Oh... okay... so you know that I don't know what's been going on?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"Would... would you mind explaining?" Zero asked.  
  
Jessie sighed and sniffed again. "No..."  
  
"Thanks," Zero smiled.  
  
"Well... when I was... taken... I was raped... as you might've guessed. Well... when I was in the hospital, I started cutting myself from depression. So... I guess I went Goth. And then... I found out I was pregnant. The baggy clothes were good, because no one knew I was gaining weight. Only Carmen and my parents knew. And then... now... the miscarriage..." Jessie burst into tears.  
  
"T-they said t-the baby was l-losing b-blood 'cause... I w-was cutting m- myself... th-that's wh-why it died..." Jessie sobbed even more. "Sh-she could fit in my hand..."  
  
Zero was still confused. "Why would you care? I mean, her father was a rapist. Why would you want to keep his child?"  
  
Jessie raised her head and glared at him. "That wasn't just his child, Hector," She spat his name. "It was also my child!" She screamed. "If I raised her like she should be raised, she wouldn't turn out like her father!"  
  
Jessie was pissed off now, and it was making Zero scared.  
  
"THIS WHOLE THING IT YOUR FAULT HECTOR! IF YOU HADN'T USED ME FOR MARISSA, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN DEPRESSED! I WOULDN'T HAVE SLEPT OVER AT CARMEN'S, AND WE WOULDN' HAVE BEEN TAKEN! HECTOR, YOU'RE SUCH AN ASSHOLE! GET OUT! GET! OUT!" Jessie was going ballistic now.  
  
"Jessie... I'm sorry..."  
  
"NO! YOU'RE NOT! GO AWAY! GO!" Jessie shrieked at him.  
  
Zero stared at her for a second. Then, he slowly got up and walked out her room.  
  
~*Later*~  
  
Zero was sitting in his room, thinking about what Jessie had said to him. It *was* his fault that she had been taken. Carmen... she might've been taken anyway, because the guy was coming to her house anyway, as it seemed. But Jessie... it was Zero's fault Jessie had been taken. And now... here she is... cutting herself, having miscarriages, going Goth... all because of him.  
  
~*Middle of night: Hospital*~  
  
Jessie had just woken from a dream about Hector. They were together in the dream... happy... raising a little boy...  
  
That was Jessie's fantasy about Hector. She wanted to have a family with him... she wanted to grow old with him...  
  
But after today... she would never have that.  
  
~Notice me~  
  
~Take my hand~  
  
~Why are we~  
  
~Strangers when~  
  
~Our love is strong~  
  
~Why carry on without me~  
  
Jessie loved Hector; she had known ever since she saw him. And she still loved him... even though he didn't deserve to be loved.  
  
~Everytime I try to fly~  
  
~I fall without my wings~  
  
~I feel so small~  
  
~I guess I need you baby~  
  
~And everytime I see you in my dreams~  
  
~I see your face, it's haunting me~  
  
~I guess I need you baby~  
  
He had used her to get another girl to like him... it was his fault she had a miscarriage... his fault that she even got pregnant in the first place...  
  
~I make believe~  
  
~That you are here~  
  
~It's the only way~  
  
~I see clear~  
  
~What have I done~  
  
~You seem to move on easy~  
  
His fault that she was now Goth... his fault was... everything.  
  
~And everytime I try to fly~  
  
~I fall without my wings~  
  
~I feel so small~  
  
~I guess I need you baby~  
  
~And everytime I see you in my dreams~  
  
~I see your face, you're haunting me~  
  
~I guess I need you baby~  
  
She cried some more. 'But the problem is,' She thought. 'Is that... I love him...'  
  
~I may have made it rain~  
  
~Please forgive me~  
  
~My weakness caused you pain~  
  
~And this song is my sorry~  
  
'What am I going to do?' She asked herself. 'How can I tell him I'm sorry?'  
  
~Ohhhh~  
  
~At night I pray~  
  
~That soon your face~  
  
~Will fade away~  
  
"This song..." Jessie whispered to herself. "Is my sorry..."  
  
~And everytime I try to fly~  
  
~I fall without my wings~  
  
~I feel so small~  
  
~I guess I need you baby~  
  
~And everytime I see you in my dreams~  
  
~I see your face, you're haunting me~  
  
~I guess I need you baby~  
  
"I guess I do need you Hector..." Jessie breathed, her tears starting to fall again. "I need you..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
THE END  
  
Me: OMG!  
  
Shannon: What?  
  
Me: I don't know.  
  
Adri: OMG! LIKE, ME NEITHER!  
  
Me: ... Yeah, anyway, I would like to mention something. Some of you *may* be wondering why I'm posting normally, because a while back, I said I wouldn't be because of my Bat Mitzvah preparations. Well... that's true, I *am* busy, practicing an hour and a half a day, but the thing is, I know everything! Yes, claps for me! *reviewers clap* That's why I be posing a lot!  
  
Squid: Oh yay... they're very happy for you  
  
Me: I KNOW! ^_^ Okay, so please review! PLEASE!!!!!!!!! With a banana on top!  
  
Me: OMG WAIT! I JUST REMEMBERED! THIS IS TO AN AUTHOR!  
  
picky – I will try me VERY BEST to get you into this story. I beg of you, DO NOT HURT ME IF YOU'RE NOT IN IT! And I'm glad ya like it ^_^  
  
Oh, and if you haven't guessed yet, that wasn't *really* the end ^_^ 


	11. Jessie

Me: WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE'RE BACK!  
  
Shannon: YEAH!!!!!!  
  
Adri: AWESOME!!!!!  
  
Me: Yup  
  
Squid: yawn  
  
Me: ... Why are you even a muse? I think you're ugly! Oh well... you're fired.  
  
Squid: 'Kay... I'll go back to the other stories I'm in... leaves... FOREVER!  
  
Zero: I'M HERE   
  
Jessie: YOU FRICKIN beep! YOU KILLED MY BABY!!!!  
  
Zero OO  
  
**AN:** Oh, and I would like to say to **CrimsonDreams**:  
  
I'm sorry if I offended you. I really don't know anything about being Goth. But I've read stories and the people in it that are Goth is because they're depressed, so I just did that. It's not gonna be that way forever, and I'm sorry I ruined the story for you. And you're right; I should've gotten all the facts of being Goth before I wrote about it.  
  
And to **Geneveva**:  
  
Did you ever get my E-mail? Cause if you did and responded, I didn't get it.

Chapter 11: Jessie  
  
Jessie was shook awake the next morning. When she opened her eyes, she saw that it was her friends, Holly, Shannon, and Mykalanne. They were Goth also.  
  
"Hey girl, whatcha doin' here?" Shannon asked her. Shannon and long black hair also, and was wearing a very baggy black skirt and a black sweatshirt.  
  
"Yeah, you weren't home yesterday. We called you," Holly said. Holly had short black hair and was wearing black baggy pants and a shirt with a weird looking character getting struck by lightning.  
  
"Yeah... so where were you?" Mykalanne demanded. She had boy-cut black hair and hair baggy shorts on and a black sweatshirt.  
  
"Well... I... was being checked for cancer," Jessie lied quickly, grinning. "But, of course, I don't have it. So... how'd you find me?"  
  
"That little dude outside your door told us," Holly pointed.  
  
"Um..."  
  
"Well, we saw him in front of your house and he told us you were here so we came here and he followed us and is now sitting in front of your room... well, at least, I think he is..." Shannon told her.  
  
"Oh... is it Hector?" Jessie asked.  
  
"Hector who?" Holly questioned.  
  
"Zeroni,"  
  
"... OH HIM! Yeah, that's him," Mykalanne realized.  
  
"Oh okay,"  
  
"Hey, we gotta go now... see-ya girl!" Shannon said. They all waved good- bye, and Holly, Shannon and Mykalanne exited the hospital room.  
  
A couple minutes later, Zero came into her room.  
  
"Um... Jessie?"  
  
Jessie turned and glared at him. "What do you want?"  
  
"Um... I wanted to say I'm sorry,"  
  
"Do you think I really care?"  
  
Zero glanced at her.  
  
"Hector... I can't believe that you said that. I really, really can't. And I can't forgive you for that with just sorry."  
  
Zero looked back to the ground. Then, he slowly turned and walked out.  
  
Days later at school  
  
Jessie was back at school. She had missed a couple days since she was in the hospital. But now she was back, better than ever.  
  
"Hey, hoe!" Someone called. Jessie whipped around to see who said it.  
  
It was one of the school jocks; those asshole guys that think they rule the school.  
  
"Hey look guys, she turned around to it!" The guy who called her a hoe said, laughing. His ass friends laughed with him.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Jessie glared. "And why am I a hoe?"  
  
"Because you go around having sex!" Another guy called, laughing.  
  
"Having sex?!" Jessie screamed. "HAVING SEX?! I WAS FUCKIN RAPED!"  
  
"Yeah... sure..."  
  
Jessie was about to punch him when someone grabbed her. She turned to face them and saw that it was Carmen.  
  
"Carmen?! What'd you want?"  
  
"Just go away... C'mon..."  
  
Carmen practically dragged Jessie away, who was still fuming, from the laughing asses.  
  
"How could they think that I went out and had sex? I mean... GAH! They KNEW I was kidnapped! What the fuck is wrong with them!?" Jessie rambled to Carmen.  
  
"That's what's wrong with them," Carmen pointed to Jessie's friends, Holly, Mykalanne, and Shannon.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Carmen sighed. "Those three—," She referred to the three girls. "—told the whole school that you had a miscarriage with... with Hector's baby."  
  
Jessie stared. "WHAT?"  
  
Carmen nodded.  
  
"How did they know?"  
  
Carmen shrugged. "I don't know,"  
  
Jessie stomped over to her three 'friends' "Why did you tell the whole school that I had a miscarriage with Hector's baby? And, how the fuck did you know?!"  
  
Holly answered, "Well, your nurse told us, and, since you lied to us, we had to get you back." And then she shrugged.  
  
Jessie glared. "You know very well that it wasn't Hector's baby!"  
  
Shannon smirked. "But the school doesn't,"  
  
"HOW COULD THEY NOT!?" Jessie shrieked. "I WAS FUCKIN RAPED!"  
  
Holly shrugged again. "Oh well," And they walked away.  
  
Jessie was boiling. She was burning with, and was ready to burst.  
  
Without giving Carmen a chance to say anything, she stormed out of the school and ran home.  
  
She threw the door opened, frightening her mother. She stomped up to her room and locked the door. She turned the radio on full volume, which had 'Everything' by Britney Spears playing.  
  
Jessie broke down crying. She sobbed for a few minutes and then looked up at her reflection. She gasped when she saw herself.  
  
What happened? She thought. This isn't me!  
  
Her black hair was all messed up, and her pale face had her black eyeliner smeared everywhere. Her clothes were different. They were black.  
  
What am I doing?! She asked herself. This isn't me! Why am I doing this!?  
  
She ripped off her clothes and ran to her closet in her bra and underwear. She opened it up and looked around. She shank back.  
  
Her whole closet had black clothes. What happened to me? She thought as tears poured down her face. This isn't me! I want the old Jessie back!  
  
"I WANT JESSIE BACK!" Jessie screamed tearfully.  
  
Me: That chapter took me forever to write. Forever. F-O-R-E-V-E-R. Anyway, yeah I know it sucked but that's life. You can't like all the chapters I write. But sorry it took so long to write... Bat Mitzvah preparations. It's May 22!!!! 12 days!!!! AHH! Haha no I'm actually really really really really really really really really excited. Whew. Lol anyway, wish me luck! 


	12. Everybody's Fool

Chapter 12: Everybody's Fool  
  
A few months later, it was graduation time for the seniors, including Magnet and Zigzag, Kristi and Marissa. Marissa was really showing in her pregnancy, being 7 months in, and Kristi was showing just as much, even though she was only 4 months.  
  
Jessie was back to her normal self; she and Zero had finally started going out back in May. It was now Friday, June 11, 2004, and the seniors were graduating. It had been a few months since Jessie's breakdown, which had occurred in March.  
  
When the graduation ceremony was over, the gang was hanging out in the back. The gang consisted of: Zigzag and Marissa, Magnet and Kristi, Zero and Jessie, X-Ray and Carmen, Twitch and Carla, Squid and a new girl, Lindsay, Caveman and Kayla, and Armpit.  
  
After joking around for a few minutes, Marissa suddenly clutched her stomach in sat down quickly.  
  
"Marissa!" Zigzag cried, bending down.  
  
"Ricky..." She gasped. "The baby... the baby is coming... call 911."  
  
"Right... right," Zigzag fumbled for his cell phone. He got ready to dial, stopped, and then asked, "What's the number?"  
  
Marissa stared at him, sweat dripping down her face. Then she screamed, "IT'S 911 YOU IDIOT!!"  
  
"Right!" Zigzag exclaimed, and dialed quickly.  
  
It rang once, and then a lady answered.  
  
"Hello?" She said.  
  
"Hello, my, um, girlfriend is giving birth. I need someone down at Lembi Park immediately. We're at the graduation."  
  
"We'll be right down," The lady said and she put him on hold.  
  
Kristi, Jessie, Carmen, Carla, Lindsay, and Kayla were gathering around Marissa.  
  
Kristi was gripping her hand. Jessie had gotten a moist paper towel and was dabbing her forehead. The other four were just telling her to relax.  
  
Within minutes, the ambulance had arrived. They took Marissa into the ambulance, and reluctantly let Ricky in too.  
  
The rest of the teens piled into Squid's, Armpit's and Magnet's cars'. They followed them to the hospital and waited in the lobby while Marissa and Zigzag were in the delivery room.  
  
Marissa had to have a sea section. Zigzag went to the lobby and told them it was going to be a while.  
  
So, all the girls went down to the gift shop and each bought her something. When they came back, there were huge amounts of gifts and balloons filling the lobby. People everywhere stared.  
  
An hour later, Squid and Armpit took the guys out to lunch while the girls discussed the baby name issue.  
  
"If it's a boy, I want Marissa to name is Henry," said Kristi.  
  
"Ew, I would name it Spencer," Carmen said.  
  
"Well, if it was a girl, I would like Jessica," Lindsay giggled.  
  
Another hour later, Zigzag rushed in saying Marissa was almost done. All the teens waited anxiously, some even pacing.  
  
Zigzag rushed in half an hour later, beaming with glee. "It's a girl!" He was smiling a mile wide.  
  
All thirteen clapped, as well as the other people in the lobby. The guys thumped Zigzag on the back, while the girls squealed excitedly. Zigzag told them he had to go help clean up the baby.  
  
Zigzag was gone for an unusually long time. It was two hours before he finally came back.  
  
He was chalk white and breathing deeply.  
  
"What happened?!" They all asked.  
  
"Is something wrong with the baby?" Kristi asked.  
  
"No... not the baby..." Zigzag choked.  
  
"What?!" Magnet exclaimed.  
  
Zigzag took a deep breath. "Marissa and I... we have... we have AIDS."  
  
"Oh my God..." Lindsay said, breaking the several minute silence.  
  
"Oh Ricky!" All the girls gave him a big hug.  
  
"Can we see Marissa?" Kayla asked.  
  
Zigzag nodded gravely.  
  
All the girls went to Marissa's room while the guys stayed with Zigzag.  
  
The girls peeked into Marissa's room. She was silently crying, cuddling with her daughter.  
  
"Marissa?" Lindsay whispered.  
  
Marissa wiped her face and smiled. "Come in... You guys wanna hold Arielle?"  
  
They nodded. "What a beautiful name..." Jessie whispered.  
  
Arielle was now one month old, and both Zigzag and Marissa were tired out of their minds. They hadn't had a full night of sleep since Arielle was born. They both had bags under their eyes, but they loved Arielle and were happy to have her.  
  
They were living in an old trailer in a trailer. But, they still loved Arielle.  
  
At least, Zigzag did.  
  
A couple days after Arielle turned one month, Zigzag woke up to a screaming baby and an empty bed, besides him.  
  
When he saw that Marissa was gone, he was frantic. He searched everywhere for her, but then saw that there was a note on her pillow.  
  
He began to read:  
  
_To Ricky,  
  
I'm sorry. I can't stay here with you or Arielle any longer. I don't love you anymore._  
  
Zigzag's heart fell to his stomach.  
  
**Perfect by nature  
**  
**Icons of self- indulgence**  
  
**Just what we all need**  
  
**More lies about a world that**  
  
_I think it's time you finally knew. You were just a step on my ladder to popularity._  
  
**Never was and never will be  
  
Have you no shame**  
  
**Don't you see me  
  
You know you've got everybody fooled**  
  
_You were a hottie senior and I was a popular freshman. But then, you got me pregnant. You bastard. You know what that did to my reputation?  
_  
**Look here she comes now  
  
Bow down and stare in wonder  
  
Oh, how we love you  
  
No flaws when you're pretending  
  
But now I know she**  
  
_People called me a whore. A slut. It killed me. So, I told myself after this baby was born, I was going to leave your sorry ass._  
  
**Never was and never will be  
  
You don't know how you've betrayed me  
  
And somehow you've got everybody fooled  
**  
_Then, Arielle was born, and it was too hard to leave. But I had to. I had to leave you and Arielle. Who cares how cute and adorable she was? Who cares if she looked at me, eyes full of love?_  
  
**Without the mask  
  
Where will you hide  
  
Can't find yourself  
  
Lost in your lies  
  
I know the truth now  
  
I know who you are  
  
And I don't love you anymore  
**  
_I certainly didn't care. I had to leave you. It would make me look cool. And popular. Marissa, the girl who dated the senior, got pregnant, and ditched him and the kid. It was perfect._  
  
**It never was and never will be  
  
You don't know how you've betrayed me  
  
And somehow you've got everybody fooled  
**  
_And, now you know the truth. Now you know my plan for the past nine months. I hope you're not too sad.  
  
-Marissa_  
  
**Never was and never will be  
  
You're not real and you can't save me  
  
Somehow now you're everybody's fool  
  
**Zigzag stared at the letter.  
  
Arielle was still crying.  
  
He was a fool.  
  
He was Marissa's fool.  
  
He was everybody's fool.  
  
I don't own the song Everybody's Fool by Evanescence. YAY! I UPDATED!!!! WHOO! Oh, and Arielle is not pronounced like Ariel in the Little Mermaid. Just say these three letters, R E L, say them, the letter individually, and then you have the name hehe.  
  
REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!!!! 


	13. My World Is Ending

**AN:** Thank you all for your reviews, and someone asked me if I was ever going to thank my reviewers. Yes, I will do that at the end of the story. And, just so all of you know, I'm trying very hard to end this story and I think I'm writing it really badly, so I'm sorry.  
  
**Chapter 13: My World is Ending**  
  
Within the next year, everything fell apart. Zigzag's AIDS were getting worse. He didn't go to college because he had to take care of Arielle and he had to go for almost daily check ups. Arielle had been cleared of AIDS, which was lucky.  
  
Kristi had her kids, and neither she nor Magnet went to college either. They'd had boy and girl twins and named them Mark and Tiffany after Kristi's parents who'd died in a car crash when she was five.

A few months after that, Carmen went missing again. She had been gone ever since. The police had ruled her as dead, though they never found a body. X-Ray had been so upset that he ran away, and they haven't seen him since, and he had been ruled out as dead as well.  
  
It was graduation again. Armpit, Squid and Squid's new girlfriend, Kaely, were graduating. Kaely had their graduation speech, and after the ceremony was over, the gang hung out in the back.  
  
Arielle was sucking on her fingers in Zigzag's lap, and whenever someone looked or spoke to her, she wrapped her arms around Zigzag's neck.  
  
"She's adorable..." Jessie said softly. She then looked up at Zigzag. "How's your... um... sickness doing?"  
  
Zigzag didn't answer immediatley. "It's getting worse and the doctors aren't promising me much time..." He looked down at Arielle tearfully. Arielle hugged him.  
  
"Who's going to look after her?" Kayla whispered.  
  
Zigzag took a breath. "Well... you guys don't know this, but I appointed Caveman his godfather."  
  
"Me!?" Caveman widened his eyes.  
  
Zigzag nodded. "You're the only one I could trust."  
  
Normally, an argument would have broken out at this, but since it was a grave situation, no one spoke.  
  
"And Kayla is godmother. She's like my sister, and I think I could trust you with her. Plus," He added. "Arielle likes you the most."  
  
Kayla smiled.  
  
A few months later, Squid received a phone call from the hospital.  
  
"Hello, is this Mr. Alan Smith?" said a woman's voice.  
  
"Yes, who is this?" Squid asked.  
  
"I'm a receptionist at Sutter Health," said the woman. "A Mr. Ricky Kasch has requested to see you."  
  
Squid instantly took off to the hospital, calling the rest of the gang as he went. He didn't know how, but he knew something was wrong.  
  
He arrived there last of them all, having lived the farthest from the hospital. They were all waiting in the lobby, Squid said a quick hi, asked the receptionist where Zigzag's room was, and hurriedly entered.  
  
Zigzag looked a mess. He was very thin and had tubes connected to his nose. He had an IV in his wrist.  
  
"Hey Squid," He smiled weakly.  
  
"Zig... what happened?" Squid asked.  
  
"My AIDS... they're getting worse. They don't think I'm gonna live much longer..." He coughed. "They don't think I'm gonna live much longer..." He repeated, closing his eyes and coughing again.  
  
"Don't worry Zig, you're gonna get through this," Squid told him hoarsely, though not believe it himself. "Where's Arielle?"  
  
"Kayla," Zigzag whispered, eyes still closed.  
  
"Zig, open your eyes," Squid suddenly told him.  
  
Zigzag stayed silent.  
  
"Zig... seriously, this isn't funny. Just open your eyes!" Squid half shouted. Zigzag still didn't move.  
  
A steady beep started coming from one of the machines, and Zigzag's chest stopped moving. Squid panicked.  
  
"ZIG! ZIG, OPEN YOUR EYES!" He screamed.  
  
A couple of doctors rushed in, saw the machine, and ushered Squid out of the room.  
  
Squid stared at the closed door. He couldn't believe it... his best friend from Camp Green Lake... was... he couldn't even think it...  
  
Everything had been going downhill since Marissa dumped Zigzag... Carmen and X-Ray were supposedly dead... none of them had gone to college yet... and now Zigzag was dying... and his daughter would be an orphan as age one.  
  
He punched the wall and ignored the throbbing pain now in his fist. _Why did all this have to happen...?  
_  
_My world is ending..._thought Squid, and as he stood there, his best friend was losing his life. _There's nothing I can do..._  
  
The doctors emerged from Zigzag's room about ten minutes later, looking grave. One of them said to Squid, "I'm sorry."  
  
Squid went into the lobby, pale. Everyone got up and started asking him what happened. When he didn't answer, they all got the gist. They knew what happened.  
  
The funeral took place three days later. Zigzag's friends were the ones who paid for it, and no family was invited, as they didn't care. But all of his friends were there, and then some.  
  
A couple of people spoke about him, but Squid barely heard. He couldn't stand it.  
  
When people went to view the body, Kayla took Arielle. Kayla's eyes filled with tears as Arielle made a move to go to her father. Kayla held her back and carried the screaming Arielle away from him.  
  
He was buried in an almost empty graveyard. There was a tombstone for Carmen Sanchez and Rex Jefferson, though there was no body. Squid looked around the graveyard and thought to himself, _This is our graveyard._


	14. Epilogue

**AN:** I didn't mention it before, but the last chapter was my last one. I was planning on doing more, but because of my huge dislike of this story, I'm going to end it here. This will be the Epilogue, with Squid as the main character, in the first person. I hope you enjoyed this story, my most successful story. I discourage you all from asking for a sequel, as I will most likely not write one.

**Epilogue**

Here I sit, watching the clouds drift by slowly. At times like this, when I sit in my office, during long hours, I get deep in thought, and I remember my childhood. My high school years.

In high school, my best friends in the world and I went through a lot. My friend, Ricky, had thought he found love with a girl named Marissa. He got her pregnant, and on the day of our graduation, they gave birth to little Arielle. Marissa left them two months later.

Ricky was devastated. The day Arielle had been born, he and Marissa had found out that they both had AIDS. Thankfully, Arielle didn't have it.

But when Arielle was a year old, Ricky died.

My other friend, Jose, had also gotten his girlfriend, Kristi, pregnant. But she didn't leave him. They gave birth to a two little boys, named Ricky and Rex. Rex was for another one of our friends that had died.

Rex had been dating my friend Carmen, and Carmen and Jessie, who dated my other friend Hector, had gone missing once. They returned and both went through very hard times. Carmen had been kidnapped again, and hasn't been seen in over ten years.

My friend Rex committed suicide two years after Carmen went missing for the second time. He had become distant with everyone after she went missing, and after a while, I guess he couldn't take it. It was an overdose of sleeping pills that did it.

Hector and Jessie married after high school, and gave birth to a girl they named Carmen. But the baby was kidnapped from the hospital the night of her birth, so most of us never knew her. The baby's body was discovered the next day, and she was dead. Hector and Jessie left town, devastated. I don't know what happened to them.

Brian never settled down because he had been killed in his dorm room during his college years. The killer had been identified, and was, at the moment, sitting in jail.

My last friend, Theodore, had never settled down. He's still alive and well, but no girl had ever really been interested in him. He was now living in Chicago, trying to get a job as a lawyer.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by my wife, Charlotte, putting her arms around my neck and kissing the top of my head.

I jumped a little and said, quietly, "Hey Char,"

"Hey, Alan," She answered. "Ya thinkin' about high school again?"

I sighed. Charlotte knew everything about my high school years. "Yeah," I answered distantly. "It's just... It's really hard to imagine everything that's happened... I mean... sometimes I still wake up, thinking it's the first day of my new high school with all my friends... I even hope that's the case once in a while... so I'd know to tell my friends not to do stuff... like to tell Hector to ask Jessie and not Marissa and Ricky not to go out with Marissa... and Jose not to get Kristi pregnant..." I could feel tears in my eyes.

Charlotte turned my chair around to face her and she hugged me. "Alan," She whispered. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have stopped it. You couldn't have stopped Carmen from being kidnapped, or little Carmen from being killed, or from your friends getting their girlfriends pregnant. You have _nothing_ to do with it."

I took a breath. "I know... but just knowing that some of them are dead or screwed up... it kills me."

"I know it does," Charlotte told me. "But you can't let it control you."

I nodded and looked down. "I know..."

She sighed. "Would this be a bad time to tell you some good news?"

My head snapped up. "Good news?" She was grinning.

"Yes... well... you see... I – I mean, you and I – are going to – to..." She stammered, looking for the right words.

I stood up. "You mean... you're... we're..."

She smiled widely. "Yes, Alan!" She threw her arms around my neck. "I'm pregnant! We're going to have a baby!"

Ever since Charlotte and I had married, five years ago, we had been trying to have a baby. The doctors had told us that, due to some damage in her reproductive system, it would be very difficult, if not, impossible, for her to reproduce. They hadn't given up hope, however, and finally, it had paid off.

"I can't believe it..." I whispered, hugging her back.

"Aren't you happy?" Charlotte asked as she let go of me, her smile flickering.

"Happy?" I repeated. "_Happy?_ I'm ecstatic!" I picked her up and spun her around, holding her close and tight. "I'm overjoyed..."

Charlotte knew about my past, and how I wanted a child more than anything, just so I could give them the life I hadn't had.

"Is the baby gonna be okay?" I asked.

Charlotte looked down. "I-I don't know yet. The doctors think it will be, but since it's only the first month, they're not sure yet."

I embraced her tightly again. "Don't worry. He'll – or she'll – be fine."

Charlotte smiled sadly. "I hope so."

I bent down and kissed her lightly on the mouth. We kissed for a few minutes, before breaking apart.

"I love you..." I whispered.

She smiled. "I love you too,"_

* * *

_

Later that day, I went back to the graveyard where my friends were buried. There were only a few graves here, but they were occupied by all my friends. There was Ricky's grave... I read all of the graves for the first time in my life.

**Ricky Paul 'Zigzag' Spector**

**January 4, 1986 - September 2, 2005**

_Loving father, great friend. Victim of AIDs. Loved my everyone he knew._

A tear rolled down my cheek as I looked at the grave next to his.

**Rex Logan 'X-Ray' Maisel**

**May 13, 1988 - June 26, 2007**

_Victim of suicide. Lost his love at an early age. Will be loved and missed._

**Carmen Molly Sanchez**

**April 4, 1988 - (declared dead) July 30, 2006**

_Kidnapped and body was never discovered. Boyfriend committed suicide. Is missed and loved._

That grave was empty, as was the next one.

**Carmen Grace Zeroni**

**October 2, 2009 - October 3, 2009**

_Was kidnapped from hospital on day of birth and killed. Parents loved her greatly, and will miss her._

**Brain Joseph 'Twitch' Smith**

**December 27, 1989 - Febuary 6, 2008**

_Was a victim of murder in college dorm. Friends love him and miss him deeply._

I took a shaky breath. It was hard looking at these, but I had to. It was the only way to make me feel better.

"Hey," A voice behind me said. I turned around sharply and saw Jose standing there, his hands in his pockets, looking at the graves, and a tear escaping his eye.

"Hi," I wasn't going to ask him what had happened to him after high school just yet. He came up to me and embraced me. We cried together, and later, were joined by Theodore and Stanley. How we ended up coming here on the same day was a mystery to me, but I didn't care. We put our arms around each other as we read the last tombstone, which hadn't been there before.

**Hector Sam 'Zero' Zeroni and Jessie Danica Vernandez-Zeroni**

**August 14, 1989 - October 13, 2011**

**March 12, 1989 - October 13, 2011**

_Were killed by friends ex girlfriend and killer of daughter. Will be loved and missed._


	15. Thank You's

**AN:** Sorry, I forgot to thank all my reviewers, so now I _will_ thank everybody.

trucalifornian: I FORGIVE YOU! You can be my best fanfiction friend again I LOVE YOU ADRI!!!!!!!!!

jazandsas: Hey, hey! I love you too Jessica! I love many people. Heh, anyway, thank you for being a loyal reviewer!

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One last thanks to everybody who liked my story, and I'm glad you enjoyed my last Holes fic! Yes, my last Holes fic. But if you like HP, I strongly recommend you read my HP stories.


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